extremely strange issue, XP Pro - outbound connections work fine, inbound fail. No fire wall..can't

[wwworldwideweb]

This is a strange one. I have a XP Pro machine in a domain. It's
working fine up to a point. It can access file shares on a server, it
can access a mailbox on the Exchange Server via Outlook. The internet
works fine, it can access other computers in the domain...everything
looks fine.

The trouble comes when I try to connect to it from the server or
another computer in the domain. I get the "network path not found"
error message. I can't even ping the computer. It shows up in the
domain list but can't be connect to. The Windows firewall is turned
off and no other firewall is installed...

This is really strange, any thoughts or ideas? I thought maybe the
cause was an upgrade from XP home I did but I did a complete
reinstall..but that didn't help.

Thanks!

 

[Chuck [MVP]]

This is a strange one. I have a XP Pro machine in a domain. It's
working fine up to a point. It can access file shares on a server, it
can access a mailbox on the Exchange Server via Outlook. The internet
works fine, it can access other computers in the domain...everything
looks fine.

The trouble comes when I try to connect to it from the server or
another computer in the domain. I get the "network path not found"
error message. I can't even ping the computer. It shows up in the
domain list but can't be connect to. The Windows firewall is turned
off and no other firewall is installed...

This is really strange, any thoughts or ideas? I thought maybe the
cause was an upgrade from XP home I did but I did a complete
reinstall..but that didn't help.

Thanks!

That's a name resolution issue. It's typically caused by a personal firewall
misconfigured or overlooked. It can also be caused by a non-consistent NetBT
setting.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/07/advanced-windows-networking-using.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/07/advanced-windows-networking-using.html

We could look at logs from "browstat status", "ipconfig /all", "net config
server", and "net config workstation", from the problem computer, and from 2
others, and maybe diagnose the problem. Read this article, and linked articles,
and follow instructions precisely (download browstat!):
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

 

[wwworldwideweb]

Thanks for the reply!

Name resolution was my first thought also but as I say, I can't even
ping it (by name or IP)....that's the strangest part. There are no
firewalls active, Windows firewall is off and there is no other
firewall installed (this is a brand new Dell with nothing loaded yet).
There's no GPO disallowing ICMP responses on client machines....it's
listed in the Directory but the server can't attach to it for
management purposes.

The oddest thing about this is not being able to ping it's IP but it's
happy as a clam accessing network resources.

This is a strange one. I have a XP Pro machine in a domain. It's
working fine up to a point. It can access file shares on a server, it
can access a mailbox on the Exchange Server via Outlook. The internet
works fine, it can access other computers in the domain...everything
looks fine.

The trouble comes when I try to connect to it from the server or
another computer in the domain. I get the "network path not found"
error message. I can't even ping the computer. It shows up in the
domain list but can't be connect to. The Windows firewall is turned
off and no other firewall is installed...

This is really strange, any thoughts or ideas? I thought maybe the
cause was an upgrade from XP home I did but I did a complete
reinstall..but that didn't help.

Thanks!

That's a name resolution issue. It's typically caused by a personal firewall
misconfigured or overlooked. It can also be caused by a non-consistent NetBT
setting.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/07/advanced-windows-networking-usi...>http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/07/advanced-windows-networking-usi...

We could look at logs from "browstat status", "ipconfig /all", "net config
server", and "net config workstation", from the problem computer, and from 2
others, and maybe diagnose the problem. Read this article, and linked articles,
and follow instructions precisely (download browstat!):
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighbo...>http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighbo...

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.

 

[Chuck [MVP]]

Thanks for the reply!

Name resolution was my first thought also but as I say, I can't even
ping it (by name or IP)....that's the strangest part. There are no
firewalls active, Windows firewall is off and there is no other
firewall installed (this is a brand new Dell with nothing loaded yet).
There's no GPO disallowing ICMP responses on client machines....it's
listed in the Directory but the server can't attach to it for
management purposes.

The oddest thing about this is not being able to ping it's IP but it's
happy as a clam accessing network resources.

ICMP is a rather low level protocol, not much blocks it. If you don't have a
personal firewall problem (and you should check very carefully), then look at
LSP / Winsock corruption.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html

And check your protocols. Is NetBT the only transport being used?
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/fix-network-problems-but-clean-up.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/fix-network-problems-but-clean-up.html

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP 2005-2007 [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.